Lily Hothersall of Phoenix Theatre in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis tells us how a 'Together Again' microgrant from Creative Lives helped keep their rehearsal space warm, when the group re-started after the pandemic.

"Phoenix Theatre has 16 members in our youth section, ranging in age from 8-18 - although from 16 upwards, they have the choice of joining the adult section which has finally restarted.

We rehearsed and performed in our toasty warm studio thanks to the Together Again microgrant, with which we purchased fan heaters. The weather was extremely cold the week of the show so we were most grateful. 

As our building is an old plumbers warehouse, there is very little in the way of insulation and the oil-filled heaters we had made no impression on the cold inside.

Our youth section continues to thrive though we are having a break just now for the holidays. We will be back at the end of August ready to start on this year's pantomime which we hope to put on at the local arts centre and make money from. We might even let some of the grown-ups join us, if they promise to behave!

We are looking forward to entertaining our community and we hope, like our namesake, we can continue to rise from the ashes."